Never Alone
by Irayana
Summary: Kendal has lost something...her soulmate. The millenium came and went and her soulmate left her with a broken heart and dangling silver cord. To Kendal, there is nothing left and no reason to live. That is until she meets Raj whose past is alot like hers


This story represents learning that you are not alone and everybody has hardships to go through.

I'm being really nice and warning you that this story is SAD! (But it will get better mark my words) If you are faint at heart and emotionally sensitve, dont read it. (Actually I dare you to read it anyway. That's what kleenex is for)

I always wondered what would happen if someone's soulmate died. Well here is the first really long chapter of my story, **_Dead to the Heart_**.

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She tripped. That is how she lived and her soulmate, her heart's other half, did not.

Now rewind and start from the beginning.

Kendal Erelis was not excessively graceful. Honestly if someone did not know her they would never have guessed she could become an elegant golden eagle who could be quiet as death that rode on the wind. Strangers probably thought she was an elephant or giraffe shape-shifter what with her long legs and broad shoulders and her uncanny ability to stumbled over her own feet at the worst of times.

When she was not sporting wings and a razor sharp beak, brunette hair with sun-streaks of red-brown and tawny woven through it fell just below her shoulders in straight locks. Dark eyes that were nearly black could see every detail of any surface right down to the individual ridges of a fingerprint over twenty feet away even in human form. Kendal's sense of smell and hearing were not as good as some 'shifters, like a wolf or panther, but it was better than any humans'. Along with all that she had the power of sensing other beings' life forces which came in handy almost every day.

She could fight with a multitude of weapons or without them. Her favorite, though, was a silver tipped, wood carved sword- known as a _bokken_- that either slipped into a sheath across her back or was light and sturdy enough to be carried in her clawed feet while in flight. It was perfect for killing or incapacitating any vampire and werewolf. Even the odd witch or shape-shifter would not be able to heal from a staked heart.

And at that moment she was walking across the ground where such a weapon could be used. The scene was one that belonged in a disaster movie.

Bodies dead and half alive, staked or burned, bloated or in pieces lay on the churned and messy earth. By now her clothes would have to be incinerated to get the stench from lingering. She wished to be free of this and enter the sky to soar above the horrors she had never seen in her eighteen years of life. Not even when she worked for the Night World Council before she had joined Circle Daybreak.

It was a day after the Wild Powers had banded together to combat the Darkness that had come over the world. It looked and felt like the end of the world was upon them. No special movie effects could have copied what any apocalyptic fighter had witnessed as all the other non-combatants had gone to ground in spelled and witch protected places.

The sky had been rent apart by black threads that had spread over and through it cracking and crumbling to let a Darkness seep through from places unknown. The ground had heaved and tossed around until cracks and fissures were spouting liquid flames and scorching steam. Storms formed from deadly chemical laden clouds poured down rain that burned as much as cooled.

This had all happened while Kendal had been standing in a front rank in the army of Daybreakers waiting for the Night World militia to make the first move against them. Not that she actually moved much of anywhere. She along with maybe a dozen other elite fighters had been given the order by Thierry Descoudes to surround the Wild Powers and protect them as they fought a different battle than the physical one in front of them. She was part of a four person team made up of a red-tailed hawk, peregrine falcon, bald eagle and herself, that had covered aerial attacks as much as ground ones.

The privilege of doing so was a sign that she had finally proved she could be trusted after nine long months of service trying to make up for the things Kendal had done as a Nighter.

When she had first come to the Las Vegas Circle Daybreak headquarters, she was looked at and watched with suspicion. At the beginning she thought it was unfair for there were dozens of others coming to the large mansion to fight at the Armageddon on Daybreaks' side but then again the others were not a daughter of a well known Night World assassin, Zephyr Erelis who was one of the few shape-shifters who had gotten a high rank in the Council.

She knew especially the witches did not like her. It was a common known fact that it had been Kendal's father, on orders from a dragon, who had recruited his great-nephew Lupous, a wolf shape shape-shifter, and some of his friends, which included a tiger, to kill the old Crone of the Witches known then as Grandma Harmen.

The vampires and other 'shifters in Circle Daybreak were a little more sympathetic even though the eagle house of the shape-shifters had never been easy to get along with. The question as to why she had even left the Night World to become a Daybreaker arose many times and all to be ignored or brushed off by Kendal. She did not want to linger on the past.

It had been bumpy sailing for her. She was hesitant to become friends with any Daybreaker not only because she knew the end of the world was coming and did not want to get attached to anyone but also because golden eagles were solitary animals by nature. They kept to their own territories, doing what was required to survive.

Sad to say it was hard to resist some of these people, especially if a very energetic and impossibly trusting Witch Child known as Iliana Dominick and the third Wild Power, was trying to coax an eagle out of her shell. Try as Kendal might, no one, not even a hardened and seasoned assassin's daughter could stand firm against a smiling, little violet-eyed spell caster.

So with the acquaintance of Iliana on her side people, including a witch named Thea Harman who was Grandma Harman's own granddaughter and distant cousin to Iliana, had become more opened to her. She never knew all this would lead to finding her soulmate the one person who would love and accept her for who she is and will be and not who she was.

Kendal shook her head making herself focus on the task at hand and once more not on the past. The world, though greatly demolished in places, was alive and the Daybreakers had won. Now all she needed to do was meet up with the recovery detail that had gone out early this morning, which looked for hurt survivors from both sides of the fence.

Now that the battle was over, injured fighters were being brought to the few safe buildings left standing. No one had foreseen the effects the fighting would have on the earth. In some places, nothing was changed. Most of the Midwest and east coast of the USA was intact with only a few leveled structures and fires to report. The different countries and continents that Circle Daybreak had gotten hold of were more or less unscathed. It was Western United States that had taken the brunt of everything since that was the region the Wild Powers had combined in.

With a sad sigh she glanced around her again, glossing over the bodies that lay on the ground. The pun 'level a mountain' was an understatement when it came to the final battle. Mt. Charleston, located thirty miles away from Las Vegas and a favorite mountain to fly around in eagle form, and many others around it had been flattened completely. From eleven thousand some feet tall to almost zero in less than two days was an example of sheer might exhibited by the Ancient Powers awakening. The desert was barren, just a roiling sand mass that had buried every plant and many animals. The Las Vegas Boulevard was no more and the death toll on both sides was unknown.

Kendal ran her hands over the solid wood of her _bokken_ trying to focus on something not as horrible as death. While keeping her attention on her surroundings she searched her thoughts for a brighter subject to concentrate on. She did not have to look far for the image of a young man came into her mind along with a silver cord that was leading her forward over the carnage scattered field.

Miles Neely, the human turned falcon shape-shifter and her soulmate.

It had been maybe half a month after she had came to Circle Daybreak when Iliana had urged Kendal to go flying from the crowded and loud metropolis after the shape-shifter had gotten into a spat with a very, very distant cousin, Raksha Keller. Needing the fresh air, she had followed the order- yes it was an order from the small female even though it had been uttered as a suggestion.

So shaking off the clumsy, awkward human body, she had traded arms for wings, feet for claws, skin for feathers, and the talent of walking for the gift of flight. Eventually she had alighted on a ponderosa pine's branch that over looked the landscape on Mt. Charleston to partake in an activity that was as ancient as time.

Grooming. It always felt nice to do that after all those times dragging a brush or comb through her hair. It was natural and it was simple at the same time. And so she kept at it, calming her mind down enough so that she did not even remember what she and Keller had argued about. Then while she trailed her murderous beak through her long flight feathers suddenly one of her oldest instincts woke up with a flashing warning.

Somebody watched her.

Twisting around she quickly saw who it was.

A falcon, a large one too, sat balanced in a juniper tree more then five hundred yards away. It was a rather stunning creature even from that distance, which was not really far for an eagle's eyesight. With its dark brown and black intermixed with white and rust colored feathers the raptor had very good camouflage from its prey. Not so much from a golden eagle.

As she had continued to stare at it, Kendal saw intelligence in its yellow-brown eyes that looked at her. She threw out a string of her power to sense life forces and distinguish what beings were which when she ran into something peculiar. The falcon felt like a 'shifter but it was greatly tainted by a human presence.

She cocked her head in curiosity than straightened in dismay. She had never seen this 'shifter around the Daybreak headquarters. Then again there were not many raptors to begin with that had followed the First House of Shape-shifters when the alliance between witches and her kind had been made to Circle Daybreaks' side. Not to mention strangers were not exactly welcome around Las Vegas especially when they brought the threat of identifying Kendal as Zephyr Erelis's run away daughter.

No matter what the animal's life force felt like, she did not want to stick around and experience its scrutiny. With a last glare towards the falcon, she took off, making the branch shudder when it was relieved of her weight.

The wind behind her pushed her forward, propelling her away from the odd raptor behind her. Her sharp bird of prey ears caught a muffled sound from the direction she was going opposite of.

Wings beat echoing her own. She glanced back and saw the falcon had spread its wings and now followed her.

Kendal knew that no eagle could out fly a falcon, out-weigh it definitely but not out-fly it. She swooped in a controlled dive before banking to land on a protruding rock of a close by cliff face. With piercing eyes she watched the flacon land on the same ledge with grace and confidence that rightly fit its- no- his species.

And he had changed. So the hunch she had that of 'shifter blood in him had been correct but suddenly that thought drained out of her mind as he spoke in cool tenor tones that offset his glowing chestnut eyes.

"You're beautiful."

It was just a whisper but it nearly made her fall off the rock with shock. Kendal remembered covering it up by extending her wings partway and ruffling her feathers trying to look threatening. Not many people would like to stay and find out just what talons are capable of. Then again he had his own talons and most likely knew what they could do.

Abruptly she heard a faint yell from the direction they had come from, "Miles Neely! Where did you go? "

Miles had not answered but sat with rapt attention staring at the golden eagle that had suddenly turned into a human sitting precariously on the far edge of the overhang.

Nothing really came to mind as what to say, so they had just sat there for awhile staring at each other. She kept thinking she had seen this man before, he seemed to familiar to be a complete stranger. The small detail that nagged at her head was that she could have meet them him before when she still considered herself a Nighter.

But no instinct picked up any threat from the 'shifter sitting five feet away from her. Now she recalled that she had felt quite at peace while meeting the man's eyes.

She heard the voice again, definitely female. "Do I need to tell Maggie you ditched me in the middle of the forest? This detour we took so you could explore is making us late. We were supposed to be at headquarters an hour ago."

And it hit her.

Miles Neely. He and Jeanne McCartney- his girlfriend back then- were expected that day in Las Vegas. Maggie the soulmate of Iliana's friend Delos, a fellow Wild Power, had a brother who had stayed at the Daybreakers' command center in Seattle for the last few months ever since he had been turned, by another ex-girlfriend who happened to be a witch, him from a human into a shape-shifter. Kendal blamed it on the family resemblance as to why he had struck a cord in her memory.

But the words _soulmate _and _cord _had bounced around in her head just as she thought them until finally they collided with a flash of sparks. They had suddenly fit themselves onto the space of a shelf in her mind between two other words.

_True_ and _love. _Not to mention the beautiful term known as _forever._

It was too bad Jeanne had hated Kendal the minute both girls had laid eyes on each other. It was not exactly the eagle's fault that Miles and she were supposed to be soulmates and had found that out when he had a girlfriend.

_Hmm… _she thought dragging her mind unwillingly back to the chaos strewn plains she strode across. Resisting the urge to cover her nose from the smell she continued her thoughts. _He had an awful lot of girlfriends… Sylvia, Jeanne McCartney and goddess knows who else. But then again who can resist his sweet charm and wicked smile._

And speak of the devil, here he comes. A figure had appeared in her vision maybe a kilometer away. Focusing, she homed in on him until she could make out every stunning detail.

He was tall, but not excessively so, only two or three inches taller than her in human form, and sturdy. A smile that seemed both handsome and wicked at the same time spread across his face when he sensed her looking at him as auburn hair rippled in the wind that both could fly on. Light chestnut colored eyes always looked at her like she was the sun coming out after a storm.

_Hey beautiful. _

The stench of death and waste was forgotten when Kendal heard his mental voice in her mind. Still being careful to not tread on anything other than dirt she answered, _It seems that you have survived recovery detail. By the way you owe me a date._

Kendal listened to his electrifying laugh before it died down and his voice became somber. _I don't think there is anywhere left that I could take you. Have you flown over the city? It's in ruins. The only places standing are-_

_Are Thierry's place, a few warehouses and every place the witches put their protections on. I know. _She shrugged knowing even over the distance between them he could see it. _But_ _when all the salvaging is over we could get out of Las Vegas. _She felt his interest stir and went on. _I know you've always wanted to climb Mt. McKinley. I'm pretty sure that part of the continent went more or less untouched by what happened down here. I wouldn't object to a trip to Alaska._

_You would come with me that far just to climb a big rock? _She felt his excitement.

_Who said I would be climbing? Thank you, no. You can climb, I'm taking the next wing up until I can't go any farther. _She paused, _well maybe for you I would climb twenty thousand feet of stone._

_Kendal, Kendal, Kendal…._ he sighed her name and it made the distance between them seem like nothing, not when their minds and hearts could combine into one being. _Kendal I-_

Before he could finish his sentence movement caught both their eyes simultaneously. To the right of them, closer to Miles than her, two figures were running across the battle field.

_Do you know them? _She asked trying to get a focus on them but finding they were moving to fast.

_No, _came the confused answer, _they weren't in rescue unit I was in._

_I thought only the group of Daybreakers you were with were supposed to be out here. Plus me but I'm supposed to be telling you to report back. _Suddenly a bad thought came to mind. _Miles they could be bad news. Maybe you should get out of there-_

But it was too late. The two forms had come up to Miles and…

"_Oh God! Miles!" _She yelled both mentally and out loud. Without giving any thought she ran, almost flying across the ground in her soulmate's direction. She released her wooden blade instinctively getting ready for a fight. She shifted in to her half-form.

Wings cascaded down her back the feathers the same color as her hair. Kendal felt her body become lighter as every bone turned hallow like in any natural avian species while her eyes already sensitive they were even more so now. The change was swift but it felt nice. A release of pent up pressure, shedding layers until her true self showed through. It was even better when she took on her whole golden eagle form but now she had other things to worry about. And she jumped in to the air knowing if she ran she would never make it in time. Now she really was flying.

She rammed into one of the creatures sides throwing it away from the other two. It hissed and glared at her with silver eyes and a pale lovely face of a a beautiful blond female .

Vampire. Probably one of the few that survived the Wild Power's scourge of the earth for the malevolent Nighters.

She leapt but Kendal had been ready and waiting for that. She thrust up her _bokken_ and felt triumph when it pierced the leech's body. He growled one last defiant sound on his part before he, fell dead, to the ground.

She whirled around not waiting to see the vampire shrivel and mummify and prepared to stake the other Nighter when she felt her feet catch on absolutely nothing except themselves. Throwing her arms as much as her wings out and trying to catch herself she felt the wooden and silver tipped weapon fly from her hand.

"No!"

She was not certain if she screamed the word or someone else had but she was aware that the second vampire, a striking male in his early twenties, had turned swiftly from where he and Miles had circled each other to lunge at Kendal who was easier prey for him.

"Kendal!" Now she was positive who cried her name for the person who did was now diving in front of her shielding her with his own body from the vampire's clawing, ripping hands.

Blinding pain exploded in her chest and she did not know why for she knew in the very back of her mind, it was not her who had been injured.

It was Miles.

Fighting back the crippling, mind numbing pain she released a wooden carved dagger from a sheath on her ankle and jumped aiming for the monster's heart.

The leech had already turned and fled on quick feet giving no chance to catch up to him unless she changed to her eagle form. But she could not because…

Miles.

Her knees buckled next to him when she saw the deep, gaping wound that spanned the width of his chest. No wonder she had been overcome with that debilitating pain before; the soulmate connection let them feel each other's emotions.

"Miles!" Kendal yelled reaching towards him then shying away, scared to touch him. She was no healer; that was witch work.

"Kenny," she heard him breath out the nickname he had taken to calling her.

"Goddess, I'm here Miles, I'm here." Timidly she touched his cheek feeling the electric shivers go up her arm that showed them as soulmates. Intermixed with the bliss of being with her other half, pure and unadulterated agony swept up to crush her. She knew then and there that he was alive for now but soon…

She fumbled to get a small hand held transmitter that hung at her waist. She could not remember who had given her the thing before she had come out into the war-ravaged desert but now she could not care about anything except getting help. Pushing a button she nearly screamed into it. "Illiana I need you to come to the western side of the battle field. I don't care what excuses you need to make or who you're with drag them here as well, just PLEASE HURRY!!!"

She released the button and the only answer to her was static.

_Don't cry, Kenny. _His mental voice was so quiet and shredded it was nearly impossible to comprehend it. _I won't go far._

"You are not going anywhere," she said savagely, completely unaware of the waterfalls cascading from her eyes. She pushed auburn hair away that stuck to his forehead. "Miles Neely, don't talk. You need to save your strength. Iliana will coming, she can heal you. She can heal you…."

She heard his chuckle, even felt a shiver of it in his physical body until it was lost in racking spasms that went through him. _You are so amazing Kendal. No matter what your past held as an assassin's daughter you will forever be remarkable and I will always love you. _

"What did I say about talking?" She asked trying to fight back against the tears and failing. They kept sliding down to drip on to his blood smeared, deathly pale face.

_What did I say about crying? _

A watery laugh broke from her mouth.

Slowly, painfully he lifted a hand and ran it through her hair then rested it on her cheek. She wrapped her fingers around it and leaned down to press her lips to his gently.

His breathing was harsh and rasping but he kissed her back. _God, I was so lucky to meet you. Do me a favor and tell Maggie I love her and I know Delos will protect her when I'm gone. And I'm sorry but I don't think I'll be getting to climb Mt. McKinley with you._

Kendal's throat closed on the words she wanted to say so she thought them. _Miles you are not going to-to die. You have to live. The world survived, we made it. You can't die…_

_I don't have a choice, Kendal._ She knew the words were excruciatingly agonizing for him to say. He knew how bad it was for her to hear them as well._ My life used to be mountain after mountain with all its ups and downs, more than I wished to handle, but when I met you it was clear skies and smooth flying. _

_We'll go flying again, and you'll beat me as always. _She tried to joke but there was no humor to be found in her heart, just despair. _Don't die Miles. I won't know which way to go without you…_

_Go to the house and tell everyone what happened. The battle for the world is over but now the repairing has to begin. And not every Nighter was destroyed._

She once again saw the vampires running away from them. He had left Kendal torn between pursuing him or helping Miles.

_I will find and kill that monster. _She vowed to him,_ You just have to stay alive…_

_I almost pity anyone who gets on Kendal Erelis's bad side. Almost… _A new shudder traveled through his body. One of his big hands was fisted in pain while the other was hanging on to hers as his last connection to the physical world.

He suddenly gasped and arched upward in her hold. Her gaze was riveted on his face. His eyes were suddenly wide, blind, and terrified. Miles reached up. Kendal was not sure if he was trying to touch her face or claw at her, not knowing who she was.

_Kendal… _His voice was thick with his adoration and love for the eagle that leaned over him and sorrow for not being able to ride the wind with her anymore.

_Don't die…_

_I love you._

And he was gone.

*******Author's Note********

Dang!!!! Even I'm tearing up. *sniffle* I never knew I had it in me to be so heart wrenchingly depressing. (Or heart wrenchingly creative)

Please review. (it would make me smile again.)

=D See even the thought of you reviewing makes me happier.


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